She’s been described as Scotland’s answer to Katherine Jenkins and is the lucky charm of the Glasgow Rocks basketball giants.

But there’s only one title Ayr singing sensation Nicola Cassells wants – and that’s to be the classical world’s Pixie Lott.

The 20-year-old blonde was given the title by GMTV wardrobe guru Mark Heyes when he styled her for a performance on a window ledge in front of hundreds of shoppers in London’s Oxford Street.

“I said I didn’t want the stereotypical long gowns that you associate with classical singers,” said Nicola, who gives a classical “treatment” to rock ballads, such as Queen’s Who Wants To Live Forever and Bring Me To Life by Evanescence.

“I said put me in something that’s a wee bit more funky and young.

“As much as I love classical music, I’d like younger people to like it.

“I’d like to bring a more modern and fresh approach to classical by doing poppy songs from the charts in a classical style.”

The last seven months have been a whirl of excitement for Nicola since she won the Retail Trust charity’s annual talent competition, Search For A Star, picking up her trophy from Atomic Kitten’s Liz McClarnon and Antony Costa from Blue.

She’s mingled with Sharleen Spiteri at the musical garden at Malcolm Sargent House in Prestwick and become a star attraction at Kelvin Hall International Sports Arena with her powerful performances before basketball games.

What’s more, Susan Boyle’s brother Gerry said he’s interested in signing the vocalist to his new record label, Instant World.

While her head might be in the clouds, Nicola’s feet are still firmly on the ground when she’s out of her glitzy stage outfits and back in her work clothes at her day job at jewellers H Samuel.

“I don’t notice it so much until I’ve maybe done an event, then I go back into work thinking: ‘Did that really happen last night?’

It is two different worlds. It’s really good, but I think at the same time that’s what keeps me grounded, going back to work in the morning.”

Nicola began taking her interest in singing seriously after joining Ayrshire Youth Voices.

She rehearses with the group every Monday evening, and is singing two solos, Time To Say Goodbye and Over The Rainbow, when they perform a fundraising concert at Ayr Baptist Church this Friday.

The self-taught singer has only recently taken up private lessons with voice coach Marilyn De Bliek.

And little did she know, until recently, that she’s been giving impromptu performances much closer to home.

She said: “I never noticed until recently, but my sister came home one day and said: ‘Nicola, I can hear you singing from all the way down the other end of the street.’

“All this time I’ve been practising over the years, the full street has been able to hear me.

“Another neighbour said he can remember when I was eight and singing Disney songs out in the back garden.

“I think they’ve always known that I’d end up doing something with singing.”

Nicola still lives at home with sister Jennifer, 18, mum Julie, a nurse, and dad Brian, an aircraft engineer.

Her father has taken on the role of her manager, gig booker ... and chauffeur, until Nicola gets her licence.

She recently received a text message from her dad that made her do a double-take.

She said: “It said he’d just got an email through with someone asking if you want to perform at the Barrowland. I was like, are you sure? Is there another Barrowland in Glasgow?”

Nicola, who recently went to Paris to see Green Day and Paramore, is set to perform at the famous Gallowgate ballroom next September as part of the inaugural Scottish Music Awards.

It’s a high-profile addition to her list of diverse performance venues, ranging from Heathrow’s Terminal 5, to the Kyle Centre where she works and the Auchinleck Community Centre for its recent Alive And Kicking music festival.

The Glasgow Rocks basketball team are hoping she’ll be back to entertain them when the new season starts later mid-September.

Nicola performed at every winning home game in the team’s cup run last season – and lived up to her mascot status by donning a Rocks shirt at the semi-final stage.

But she couldn’t make it the final in Birmingham ... and the team lost.

“You find that sports events normally have classical singers,” says Nicola. “I normally sing Bring Me To Life – it builds up really well and the players really enjoy it as well.”

Nicola has been so busy that she hasn’t yet had time to fit in the prize for winning the Retail Trust Search For A Star title – three nights at a five-star hotel in Monaco, a trip she plans to take soon with boyfriend, John.

When she’s not performing or working, she’s dabbling with songs on her MP3 player to see if any would suit her classical singing style.

Who knows, there could soon be a Glee show tune, or a Katy Perry track popping up in her set-list alongside Por Ti Sere (Italian version of You Raise Me Up) or Andrea Bocelli’s Time To Say Goodbye.

While her career continues its upwards spiral, there’s little danger of her facing Simon Cowell and co for a reality TV talent show ... although never say never.

“With the type of singing that I do, I’ve never bothered to go to any of the auditions,” says Nicola.

“I’d like to try and make it on my own first, and then maybe it would be an option eventually.

“I just need to wait and see what happens.”